The House of Delegates’ Firearms Subcommittee shut down HB 390, a bill that offered concealed carry rights to individuals with a valid projective order.
The bill, introduced by Delegate Tim Griffin of Bedford County, would have allowed anyone who was 21 years or older, who could legally have a gun, and who had an unexpired protective order to carry a concealed handgun for 45 days after the protective order was issued.
If a person applied for a concealed carry permit during that initial 45 days, that person would be allowed to carry concealed for 45 more days.
During that second 45-day period, the person would have carry and produce the concealed carry application if law enforcement requested it. Otherwise, there would be a $25 civil penalty.
Public weighs in
During public testimony on January 18, multiple people spoke in support and opposition of the HB 390.
A key theme among the supporters was it empowered women with a tool to better protect themselves and it could ultimately save lives. One of those supporters was Patricia Webb, treasurer of Virginia Citizens Defense League.
“This does not change whether or not a person is able to purchase a firearm. It only changes whether they’re able to put it into a purse or a coat. And this could drastically save lives,” she said.
“I frequently hear, ‘if we could only save one life.’ There have been a number of instances where people had to get a protective order, and they were subsequently harmed by the person they had to get the protective order against. That piece of paper doesn’t stop a bad person from doing a bad thing. But the ability to defend yourself can and does.”
Webb told the members of the Firearms Subcommittee HB 390 would allow someone a fighting change and would allow them to carry a gun in a place, such as under their shirt, where it’s less likely to be taken from them.
Opponents disagreed. A key theme on the opposing side was that introducing a gun into situation makes it worse and increases the victim’s chance of getting killed.
Johnathan Yglesias, policy director of Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance noted that the organization represents all 72 of Virginia’s sexual and domestic violence agencies. And domestic violence advocates have been and remain in opposition to this type of policy.
“This is not a policy that relies on public health data or public safety data. What we know is the introduction of a firearm, regardless of who owns that, makes it five times more likely that a victim is going to die at the hands of their abuser,” he said.
After telling a story about a colleague’s daughter who got a gun and was pistol-whipped and nearly killed by her abuser, Yglesias noted, “The thing about trauma that we know in brain science is that every victim responds different to crisis. What this bill does is it creates an implicit directive for victims to protect themselves, and the thing is, we can provide victims with all sorts of training on self defense but we don’t know how we’re going to respond to that trauma when it’s presented to us.”
He also added that giving battered women gun will end up “setting a precedent to criminalize and incarcerate women who end up killing their abusers. I don’t think that’s something we want to do. We very much oppose this bill,” he said.
Clarification & vote
Asking for clarification on the intent of the bill, Delegate A.C Cordoza asked if the idea was to basically allow concealed carry without a permit to allow enough time for people with a protective order to go get the required training and receive their permit.
“Yes, sir,” said Griffin. “And I would like to add—it seems as if there’s some confusion from the opposition. It’s not as if they’re handed a gun. It’s not as if they’re made to take this,” he said of the victims.
“We’re saying we trust women. I know, some people said they don’t trust them to make the right decision. ‘If we give them the opportunity they’ll screw it up.’ I don’t agree with that,” said Griffin. “I believe that these women and victims of crime can defend themselves and this is decision they should be able to have.”
Delegates Nadarius Clark, Dan Helmer, Adele McClure, Rae Cousins, and Marcus Simon voted in favor of passing by the bill indefinitely. They are all Democrats
Cordoza, Kimberly Taylor, David Owen, and N. Baxter Ennis voted against passing by the bill. Like Griffin, they are all Republicans.
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